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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. scale — in music
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tube — a container
  7. rest — what's left
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bound — certain
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. clip — a video
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. clip — for paper
  17. tube — the underground
  18. bound — tied together
  19. kick — in football
  20. bound — obliged
  21. pound — a weight
  22. scale — size or range
  23. clip — to cut
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com